


Sometimes the Wolf Guards the Dragon

by Northern_Lady



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Sansa political plots, Viserys daughter, ward - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 02:39:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19820842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: Sansa takes a ward to be her heir and her reasons for doing so are both noble and self motivated at once. Why else would she take in the newly discovered daughter of Viserys Targaryen.





	Sometimes the Wolf Guards the Dragon

Laena sat on horseback in front of the old knight and clung to her dolls as they approached Winterfell. The wind was cold and sharp and sometimes blew her long tendrils of blond hair into her eyes. Laena was too young to know how to braid her own hair and the old knight didn’t care to try. He had taken her from Essos for only one reason and her hair was of little concern to him. Her warmth and hunger concerned him only enough to keep her alive for his purposes. She shivered as another gust of wind blew over them and tried to ignore the emptiness in her stomach. 

They approached the gates of Winterfell which were open and warily Laena watched the northmen clad in furs and wearing wolf armor as they stood aside to let them pass. She had grown up in the warmth of Volantis. No one wore furs there and she had never seen a real wolf in all her life. She imagined they were terrifying creatures. 

“What business do you have in Winterfell?” one of the guards asked them. 

“I need to speak to your dragon queen. It’s urgent.” The old knight replied gruffly. 

“She isn’t here,” the guard replied as the knight dismounted with a heavy thud. Laena remained on horseback. 

“Then where the fuck is she? What about your King in the North? I could speak to him.” 

“He isn’t here either,” the guard replied. “Let us take your horse and you and your child can have something to eat while you wait.” 

“She isn’t my child and I don’t need food. I need to speak to the fucking queen. This is important.” the old knight argued. 

“You can bring your important matter to me,” a female voice spoke from the courtyard. 

The old knight turned to see who had spoken and his eyes fell on a red haired young woman. “You are the lady of Winterfell?” 

“Yes. I am Sansa of House Stark. Jon and Dany have taken the dragons for a ride. I imagine they will be back in a few hours. In the meantime, if there is anything I can do to assist you, I will be in the small hall having dinner. I have enough to share.” 

The old knight reached up and pulled Laena down from the horse. She made a small noise of pain from his rough handling. He set her on her feet, got a firm grip on her hand, and followed after the lady of Winterfell. 

The small hall smelled of bread and venison stew and the smell made Laena’s stomach ache with hunger. She had been afraid for weeks of what would happen when they arrived in Winterfell but at this moment all she could think about was the overwhelming hunger she felt. The lady of Winterfell took a seat at the head of the table. She had two guards in the room and two outside the room. There was a serving maid at the table as well. 

“Be seated,” the lady said. 

The old knight picked up Laena as roughly as ever and set her in a chair. The serving maid brought a bowl of stew and a chunk of bread. Laena burned her mouth on the hot stew but devoured it anyway. The lady Sansa watched her with momentary concern. 

“What brings you to Winterfell Ser?” she asked, tearing her eyes from the sight of the hungry child at her table. 

“I am Ser Davon Sand. Long time ago I served Prince Doran of Dorne. I decided though that there was more money in being a sellsword so I crossed the narrow sea and made a living in Volantis. That’s where I found her,” he nodded to the child at his side. “Did you know that the Beggar King and his sister Dany lived in Volantis for a time? Viserys had a favorite brothel there and he had a favorite woman to visit. That woman had a child. She’s called Laena.” 

Sansa looked at the girl more closely. “How can you be sure that Laena is the daughter of Viserys?” 

“Two years back the brothel burned down. Everyone in there died. This kid just walked out of the flames without a scratch on her. Look?” Ser Davon grabbed a candle on the table with one hand and then grabbed Laena’s hand with his other hand. Sansa looked as if she were about to say something to stop him but the flame touched Laena’s hand and had no effect on her. “This girl has the blood of the dragon.” 

“And what do you plan to do with her?” Sansa asked. 

“I thought long and hard about selling her off to Queen Cersei. The southern queen would pay a lot for that kind of leverage against the dragon queen but then I thought, the queen of dragons wouldn’t be too happy with the man who sold her niece like that. I don’t want to be eaten by no dragons. So I brought her here.” 

“Then you have done exactly the right thing,” Sansa said with a sigh. “How much gold did you hope to get for her?” 

“A hundred pieces at least,” he said over his bowl of stew. 

Sansa turned to her guard. “Hiram, please go to the chest and bring me a hundred and ten gold coins.” 

Davon very nearly choked on his food. “You wish to buy her?” 

“No, I won’t be buying anyone. I’m sure the dragon queen will compensate me for everything once she returns.” 

Davon looked up at her glaring. “And you’ll ask how much for compensation? A hundred and fifty gold? No, I’ll wait until I see her myself.” 

“I think it will be far safer for you if you take your gold a leave long before she returns. I have eyes enough to see how hungry Laena is. I doubt Dany will want to hear more stories of your treatment of her niece.” 

“I am as hungry as she is,” Davon argued. 

“That may well be but Queens understand very little about poverty and tend to blame the poor for their own predicament. You had best eat your stew, take your gold and leave.” Sansa said firmly. 

Laena saw Davon grip his spoon tightly at her side. He was angry. She was worried that he would pick her up, storm out of the small hall, and take her to queen Cersei after all.

“Your anger does not change the truth,” Sansa continued. “Dany will blame you for any flaws with your niece and the status of knight will not protect you. I however am the Lady of Winterfell. My brother Jon is involved romantically with the Queen. It is safer for me to tell her that I let you go than it is for you to stay and meet her yourself. A hundred and ten gold pieces is more than fair for all your trouble in bringing her here. If you value your life, you should take it and go.” 

The guard returned with a bag of gold and placed it on the table a Davon’s side. He stopped eating long enough to look into the bag and to bite on of the coins. Then he nodded and got to his feet. “Fine. I’ll be on my way.” And with that the old knight was gone from Laena’s life for good without even a farewell. 

Lady Sansa got up from her seat at the end of the table and moved to sit across from Laena. “How old are you Laena?” Sansa asked her. 

“Seven, my lady.” 

“Coming all the way here from Volantis is a very long journey for a girl your age. You must be hoping to meet your Aunt very soon.” Sansa said. 

Laena looked up at lady Sansa over her nearly finished bowl of stew. “She killed my father. I heard the stories. She had her Dothraki husband pour molten gold on my father’s head. She hated my father and she wanted to be queen instead of him. I don’t think she will be happy to see me.” 

Sansa thought over Laena’s words, a look of worry on her face. “We could tell her you are someone else. You could be here as my ward. I don’t plan to marry ever again and I will need an heir. If I have chosen an heir, an orphan from Volantis, no one will question it.” 

Laena may have been young but she had suffered enough to be mistrustful of people even at her age. “Why would you help me like that?” 

“Perhaps because I really do need an heir. If we survive these coming wars the Warden of the North will play an important part. It is to my advantage to shelter you for now and maybe someday when the time is right, and it is safe, we can tell people who your father was.” 

“You want me to be Queen if Dany dies in the war?” Laena asked. 

Sansa raised an eyebrow. “You are too smart for your own good. Perhaps it may come to that or it may not. Either way, you are safer to remain hidden and someday when you are older and the time is right, I hope you will remember that Winterfell offered you shelter and protection in your time of need.” 

Laena thought over Sansa’s words a moment. She was afraid of her Aunt Dany and had been ever since she’d heard the stories of what happened to her father. She had heard stories about Sansa Stark too. People had hurt Sansa but she remained kind and strong in spite of it all. “I will remember,” she finally said. 

“Good,” Sansa said with a nod. She turned to the guards and the maidservant in the room. “Everything said in this room will remain in this room.” 

“Understood my lady,” One agreed. “You have our silence.” Another added. 

“Mara, please see what you can find for clothing suitable for my ward?” Sansa asked the maidservant. 

“Yes my lady,” the maid left to do as bidden. 

Sansa reached across the table and took Laena’s hand. “Winterfell has plenty of food for now. You won’t be hungry. And my guards will look to your safety now too. You’ll have warm clothes and a maester to educate you, and you will have a family if you want it.” 

Laena looked up at Sansa, unsure what to say or if she trusted her just yet. “Then...can I have some more stew?” 

“Of course,” Sansa said with a small smile and served the bowl herself. 

***

It was several hours later when Jon returned and found Sansa in her solar with a child guest. 

“So it’s true,” Jon said on seeing Sansa helping the child with sewing. “They are saying you suddenly have a Ward, an orphan from Volantis. This must be her?” 

“Jon this is Laena. It’s true, she is my ward from Volantis. Laena, this is my brother Jon Snow.” 

“Pleased to meet you, my lord,” Laena said in a small voice. 

“May I have a word with you alone, Sansa?” Jon asked, hardly masking his irritation. 

Sansa turned to Laena. “You remember where your bedchamber is? Go, and find something to read for a time. I will find you later.” 

Jon watched the child go with slight confusion and then spun to face Sansa. “What is this all about?” 

“I am not going to marry again Jon and Winterfell will need an heir, that’s what this is about,” Sansa said as explanation. 

“Fine, but why have you never mentioned this before now? Why an orphan from Volantis? How did she even get here?” 

“I don’t see why you’re upset Jon. You said you didn’t want Winterfell. If I want to pass it on to an orphan of my choosing, a child that I can raise to be good and kind and wise, why should I not do that?” 

“She came here all the way from Volantis, which means that you have been planning this for months. When are you going to stop keeping secrets from me Sansa?” 

“I didn’t plan it for months,” she told him truthfully. “I knew I would eventually need to adopt a ward but...Laena came to me by chance and I decided she was the right fit.” 

“An orphan from Volantis just happened to arrive in Winterfell today?” 

Sansa nodded. “Yes. She was brought here by a knight. Her mother was from Volantis and worked in a brothel and her father was a wealthy lord of Westeros once. The knight had hoped to sell her back to her family. Laena’s father is long dead though so I paid the ransom myself. Is that so wrong?” 

Jon relaxed his stance but he still had questions. “Which house was her father from?” 

“Why does it matter? She’s here and we can offer her a home. With all the war and devastation and politics to deal with, wouldn’t it be nice to do some small kindness, like offer a poor orphan girl a home?” 

Jon sighed with resignation. “You’re right. We’ll be fighting the army of the dead soon, but what’s the point if there’s nothing to live for when it’s done with?” 

Before Sansa could give a reply, Bran wheeled into the open door. He stopped and stared at Sansa. “If you don’t tell him, I will,” Bran said. 

“Tell me what?” Jon asked. 

“Laena is from House Targaryen,” Sansa admitted with frustration. “Everything I said was true, only I omitted that her father was Viserys Targaryen.” 

Jon just stood there a moment and Sansa could not tell if he were angry or not. “Why would you keep that from me?” 

“Because Dany can not know,” Bran spoke up. “It would be dangerous to tell her.” 

“You don’t think she would be happy to meet her niece?” Jon asked. 

“I think she would see her niece as a threat,” Sansa said. 

“The mother of dragons doesn’t want to be an aunt,” Bran said. “I have seen how Viserys treated her. She might find it difficult to not see her brother in Laena. All Dany wants is the iron throne. She might try to raise Laena if we asked it of her but she would fail. She would fail because she already loves her dragon children and the throne more than anything else. Do we really want another unstable and unloved Targaryen to take Dany’s place someday? Wouldn’t it be better if Laena were raised in Winterfell by people who can actually care for her?” 

“Maybe you have a point Bran, but it’s not Sansa’s decision to make, or yours,” Jon argued. 

“No, it’s yours,” Bran pointed out. “You are Laena’s cousin, her closest male relative. By law, you decide her fate.” 

Jon did not look happy at the prospect. Not in the least.


End file.
